83 louisianacookin.comGRAISON GILL is much more than a local baker.
With his commitment to grinding fresh fl our to use in
his artisan breads and other products, he’s a culinary
disruptor focused on the utmost integrity of his grains
and the process he employs to honor those ingredients
and the people who produced them. Backed by two stone
mills, a new retail shop, and passionate employees and
customers, Bellegarde Bakery boasts the largest operation
in the United States exclusively using freshly milled fl our.
When you walk into the New Orleans retail shop
tucked in a former neighborhood corner store, you
see windows everywhere, providing a glimpse of the
work behind these beautiful loaves of bread, which is
intentional. Transparency is a core value of Bellegarde’s
business.
“Th ere’s nothing to conceal in what we do or what
we don’t do, and also, it’s an opportunity to highlight
and talk about our ingredients,” Graison says. “Th ere’s
no secret about what we do or our
recipes or our formulas. Th ere’s no
secret about our equipment; there’s
no secret about us. None of us are
coming from baking dynasties.”
When Graison started Bellegarde
Bakery six years ago, he used
traditional, commercially available
fl our to provide bread to farmers’
markets and then to retail clients,
including restaurants, shops, and
large grocery chains like Whole
Foods and Rouses. But four years
ago, he fell under the spell of using
fresh fl our and changed his entirebusiness plan to encompass the unequaled quality of
milling his own fl our.
“As the owner of the business, I never wanted to
buy two 3,000-pound stone mills. It’s not fun, it’s not
convenient, it’s not easy, it’s not aff ordable, it’s not
lucrative—it’s none of those things. But there was no one
making the ingredients that we wanted to bake with. So,
we decided to make the ingredients ourselves.”
Bellegarde also off ers heirloom grits and cornmeal
made from corn that comes from a sixth-generation
family farm in southern Alabama that’s been farming the
same corn on the same land since 1875. Th e grits and
cornmeal are available at the bakery for purchase, along
with Bellegarde’s other freshly milled grains, for those
who want to work with the ingredients at home.
Now that Bellegarde has moved from its commercial
warehouse to a consumer-friendly retail bakery, Graison
plans to showcase his grains in other products, like
cookies, fresh pasta, pizza, and
bialys (Polish bread rolls similar to
bagels). He leads classes about once
a month—mostly bread-making,
but he’s also partnering with
local chefs and bakers to expand
the range.
“[People thought] I was crazy,”
Graison says with a laugh. “No one
would want to take a six-hour class
with no alcohol. Six hours and it’s
all about bread. We’ve been doing
classes for four years about once
a month, and there’s never been a
class we haven’t sold out.”LOCAL PANTRY
STONE GROUND
by nora mcgunnigleLOCAL PANTRY
Nora McGunnigle is a freelance writer focusing on food, drink, travel, and culture in New Orleans and the Gulf South. You can follow her at
beerfoodtravels.com.